Strange Romance
by Tabrina
Summary: When a Mithra girl Kuronue ventures out alone into Saruta, unknowingly training Yagudos, will she make it out alive? Sucky summary Rated for blood and gore and romance in later chapters Ch2 up R&R plz
1. The start to a strange romance

Strange Romance  
Chp 1

A/N: Of course I don't own FFXI.. Cuz if I did there would be waaayy more merchandise .. Like plushies of the Tarus But ok here we go haha

We began our story in the Windurst Woods, where three friends walked, trying to avoid the hussle and bussle of the busy town.. And more or less enjoy the scenery. Though the two friends babbled on, one was more interested in watching the adventurers go out for battle.

"Kuro!" Snapped one of the three Mithras. Her short cut purple hair blowing slightly in the gentle Windurstian air. "You need to get your head out of those clouds and start paying attention to what's going on!"

Her blonde friend decided to join in.

"Yeah your always looking at those adventurers thinking you could be out there fighting, but you know what your mother says!" She crossed her arms across her chest, and tried to look as forceful as she could. Kuronue pushed her red hair out of her face and looked at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Thank you, but I know what my mother says but," She turned to look at both of her friends, "what if we went out… just once! Our parents would never know!" Kuro turned to her friend with the purple hair, who didn't look very pleased with her idea.

"Akina, come on, you always say you wanna meet some cute adventurers! What better way to do that then to be out there fighting with them!" Akina's eyes lit up at the sound of the male adventurers, but she quickly shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and turned her head to the side. "Sumi, you are always looking for something to do, well why not do something for the good of our land!"

Kuro clasped her hands together in a begging way. "Pleaaassseee!! We won't go very far I promise!" Kuronue's two friends looked at each other, then back to Kuro. They smiled and nodded but then Akina stood forward. "if we get in trouble, we get to blame you though." Kuro nodded just happy to be able to go out. The three girls looked around, making sure no one that knew them, or their parents were around, and quickly ran out into Saruta.

Now these girls weren't very good, not like many of the adventurers but they had been being taught since they were younger. Akina was becoming a wonderful thief, able to pick pocket from the locals in town, and she only got caught a third of the time. Sumi was a skittish Mithra, so she never fought with her hands, and fought instead with the art of black magic. Kuro was the exact opposite of Sumi, she wanted to be right up there, and though her mother was a mere white mage, her older brother taught her in the ways of the monks. The three girls ran outside quickly, and looked around. There weren't many adventurers around here… maybe 3 at the most.. Not including them that is. They looked at each other and each went after a tiny mandragora. The fights were surprisingly easy and they had finished with not a scratch on any of them. Kuro frowned and looked at her two friends who seemed very happy to fight the little guys.

"This is too easy. I'm going farther out guys." Before either of the two could say anything Kuro was out of sight. The two friends looked at each other worriedly and followed suit, looking for Kuro. They only went so far, before they saw a Yagudo blocking their path, and went back.

Kuro went farther out, running past Yagudo after Yagudo, and never realizing they all followed her as she went. She didn't see an adventurer for a while, and finally saw a Yagudo that looked somewhat weaker. It had no weapons at all, but she never realized that like herself, it was monk, and strong enough that it did not need weapons. She began fighting, surprisingly winning, but she suddenly felt a strong hit to her back and whirled around. There was a very long line of Yagudos following her and she knew she would never make it out alive. She fought her hardest only managing to take the one until she was surrounded. She'd hit one and another would hit her from behind, from the side, from everywhere around her. She didn't even have time to hit anymore, as she was being hit around so much in the circle of Yagudos. She could barely even keep her eyes open, her vision starting to fade into black. One Yagudo hit her and she went tumbling over. She closed her eyes tightly waiting for more blows to come.. But none ever did. She heard a very loud clap of lightning and slowly opened her eyes, when she didn't feel any lightning strike her or anything for that matter. She sat up slowly, her arms weak, cut up, and bleeding profusely.

There in front of her, very close to her in fact stood Ramuh lightning god of legend. She screamed, hoping anyone would hear her and save her from him, knowing that if he had killed so many Yagudos with one hit, she would be quick and easy to kill. She fell backwards against the ground as she passed out.

(I won't stop it there, I have a lil more . No cliffhanger… yet haha)

She woke up, still not opening her eyes, realizing she was still on the ground, and wondering why she was not dead. Did she dare open her eyes to find out if Ramuh was just waiting for her to awaken to kill her. Slowly she opened one eye… not seeing Ramuh at all. She sat up slowly, realizing her wounds were gone, and she no longer felt as near death as she had before. She looked to her side to see a warm fire, but what she saw behind the fire surprised her. There staring back at her were two large brown eyes. She went numb, wondering what horrible creature was staring back at her, ready to rip her limb from limb. She got up as quick as she could ready to run, but before she could a small-ish voice spoke.

"Stop don't run away!" Now that she was standing she could see over the fire, to see not a ferocious monster, but a Taru. Her mind began to race.. Did this small Taru safe her from Ramuh?! The lightning god!? It couldn't have been.. Could it? She looked down at him, only to see him looking at her questioningly.

"You… You took on Ramuh?" The small Taru laughed and Kuro was now utterly confused. The Taru stood up and began to concentrate, a strange aura flowing around him. He thrust his hands out, and none other than the Lightning god Ramuh stood beside him. Kuro stumbled back falling over, staring wide eyed and afraid at Ramuh. The small Taru released Ramuh noticing the Mithra's fear. 

"Relax," the Taru said in a calming voice. "I summoned him, I'm a summoner. I can do that." Kuro looked up at him in shock.

"You're an adventurer then?" The Taru nodded with a very proud of himself smile on his face. His face soon turned serious and looked straight at her from behind the fire.

"What were you doing out here anyway? You could have been killed out here alone." Kuro crossed her arms across her chest, sulking.

"I'd never been out here before… and well… the mandragoras near my home town… they were too easy. So I came farther out, looking for a challenge, and I hadn't realized I had so many following me till it was too late I guess." The small taru nodded.

"Well be more careful. Your just lucky I cam along or you'd be one very dead Mithra." Kuro sunk her head low, feeling pretty bad about what had happened.

"I guess," Kuro sighed her hands in her lap and her head hung low. "Mother was right, I'm not cut out to be an adventurer." She heard the Taru laugh and she looked over angrily, at first thinking he was mocking her.

"Your mother is a fool then, because from what I saw you'd make a wonderful adventurer." He smiled warmly at her, and she blushed at the compliment. She stood up brushing herself, and casually sat closer to the Taru.

"So, can I have the name of my rescuer?" Kuro asked in a sheepish voice. The Taru smiled at her again and nodded.

"My name is Invier." Kuro smiled at him and extended her hand.

"I'm Kuronue, but everyone just calls me Kuro." Invier nodded but did not take her hand, but merely waved. Kuro looked down and suddenly put her own hand down and blushed, looking at the size of his hand, and the size of her hand, she would most likely crush his fingers without even meaning to. "So," Kuro said trying to ease the air around them a bit. "What's it like out there?" Invier smiled and looked at her.

"It's like nothing you've ever seen before," and he proceeded to tell her everything he had seen in the world of Vanad'iel.

Whee!! Chapter 1 is done finally. Tell me what you think, and even if I get flames I'm still continuing XD So give me flames if ya want, not like it'll matter to me haha. R&R plz 


	2. I will watch over you as you sleep

Strange Romance

Chp 2

A/n: yet again.. I don't own it Btw.. Srry this is so late I've been playing too much haha Btw, my name on the game is Kuronue (on server Garuda) Look me up sometime .

__

thoughts

Kuronue sat with wide eyes, listening intently to every detail that Invier told her about the world. She had never seen out of her 'backyard' per say, but he had been everywhere, or so it seemed.

"There are monsters out there that could kill even the strongest of adventurers, some are small, but still deadly, and some are huge!" He looked to the sky as if thinking of something. "King Behemoth, one of the largest I've seen.. I'm about the size of his toenail." Kuronue's eyes got huge as she tried to picture a monster that size. Invier could see her looking around where he sat trying to size him up, and think of how large that would make the monster. He laughed gently watching her.

__

I can't believe she's never been out of saruta! She's merely a few years younger than I. A Mithra such as herself would be an excellent adventurer, and from how I saw her fight those Yagudos…

He came out of his thoughts as he noticed she was giving him a strange look. He was confused and asked, "What?" She shook her head then looked at him sternly.

"You were staring at me.." Invier hadn't realized he had been, but now that he was caught, there wasn't much he could say, so instead of possibly making the situation worse, he decided to keep his mouth shut. He laughed to himself as he saw her face somewhat contort as to try and not yawn, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't hold it back, and yawned very largely. After that first yawn, he noticed that she had become very tired, probably still tired and in need of rest from her fight.

"Rest," he said gently to her. She looked over at him confused obviously not quite sure if she could. "Get some sleep, I'll watch over you as you sleep all right?" She crossed her arms across her chest stubbornly.

"I don't need anyone to watch over me," she said as she turned to look away from him. He grinned and decided to toy with her.

"Oh, well in that case I'll just be going now," as he said this he stood up and began to walk away. He kept walking and didn't look back… he was almost worried she was too stubborn to ask him to stay, but just as he thought this he heard footsteps coming up behind him.

"Wait," she said, obviously swallowing her pride. "Can you stay… please…?" He smiled warmly at her and nodded. They sat back around the fire and he saw her eyelids begin to drop, and her body start to sway from lack of sleep. He laughed as she had to jerk herself back awake quickly.

"Go to sleep, as you sleep I'll watch over you, take comfort in that fact." He smiled warmly, and honestly at her. She must have believed him and lay down on her side, her arms curled under her head as a head support. She was out in mere seconds and he watched her face as she slept.

__

She looks so young, when in talking with her, I found she is a mere 2 years younger than I. Her face resembles that of a child, but then looks can be deceiving. I should know that, but…

As he trailed off in his thoughts he found himself staring at the Mithra girl. More mature than she looked, and obviously stronger. He smiled to himself and walked over close to her. He sat nearer to her as to watch for monsters closer to her, and gently moved some hair from in front of her closed eyes. He smiled and quietly said more to himself than anything, "Good night Kuronue, sleep well, knowing that I shall not let anything harm you as you sleep." He stared into the night at a Yagudo as he said it, glaring deathly at it, as it glared right back, but knowing it would not win in a fight against the small Taru, and decided to walk away.

A/N: I apologize for the short update . I just wanted to get a lil bit in before sleep I had a need to write this.. And though it's short I like where it ended . hugglez Invier Isn't the lil Taru so awesome . Well R&R plz . Plus this chapter was just to so you could begin to see the small romance forming between the two . I Hope I didn't leap into it too much T.T


	3. Meet the family

A/N: Wow, it's been a while haha, with school and all it was hard to keep up with my writing, but now that summer is here I can start writing again ;; and… I had Rhet and Comp during school so lets see if it paid off… probably not haha XD BTW, just so you know, this is Romance story about a Taru and a Mithra, so if the whole cross-breading thing bothers you.. You might wanna leave now XD

Chapter 3

Kuro awoke the next morning, stretching tall, to see Invier standing in the same spot as when she had fallen asleep that night. She quietly crawled over to him on her hands and knees to see him. She crept closer and closer, and to his surprise he didn't move… didn't even flinch. She frowned and scoffed at the taru in front of her that she supposed was asleep.

"Wow, what a good guardian, asleep on the job, geez." No sooner had she ended closed her mouth from speaking that Invier turned around to look at her.

"Who's sleeping?" She turned bright red, feeling pretty bad she had said that, and sat back looking down to her fidgeting hands which rested in her lap. When she dared to peak up at him, Invier had nothing but a bright smile on, and he almost looked like he was ready to let out a chuckle. She crossed her arms across her chest, until she heard a mans voice yelling her name.

"Kuronue!" Her ears twitched, and as soon as she figured out who the voice belonged to, her ears fell back and her eyes grew wide. Invier watched her, then turned to where the voice had come from. Only to feel himself somewhat roughly pulled in front of her. Not that he was covering much, but she obviously thought it would hide her. As Invier watched ahead of him, he saw a male Mithra coming up rather quickly, and from what he could tell, very angrily. He looked somewhat similar to Kuronue, only more masculine. From what he had heard, male Mithra were always kept locked up tight in Windurst, it was odd to see him out in the wilderness. 

As he came close, he stood right in front of Invier, and Invier had to strain to look up at him. He looked from Kuronue, to Invier, and back, his ears falling back angrily as he looked at Kuronue. Without even looking at Invier, he began speaking to him.

"I'm sorry she has bothered you adventurer, I will take her, and you can rest assured she will be severely punished." Kuronue began to shake, Invier could feel it, as she was still holding onto his arms so he wouldn't move and she would still be hidden.

"She was no trouble at all though, there is no need for a punishment." He smiled up warmly at the large male Mithra, only to see a very confused glance come his way.

"Please, in honor of protecting my sister, we invite you to dinner at our families house." Invier was about to protest, but before he could say a word, the Mithra continued. "I insist." Not wanting to insult the family he agreed full heartedly. It had been a while since he had had a home cooked meal anyway.

The walk back was very quiet, as neither of the two Mithra spoke. Invier could tell that Kuronue was upset, for her tail was nearly dragging on the ground as she walked, and her ears lay back against her head. The other male Mithra, Kuronue's brother obviously, was different though. His tail twitched back and forth in a most agitated way, but his hears were also back against his head. Invier thought it best to just keep quiet.

As they made it back into Windurst, he noticed there were a few Mithra watching. He heard many mumbling quietly, and others snickering, obviously at Kuronue's expense. They made it to a quaint little part of Windurst woods, where it appeared there were a few residences. At on particular house, their home, the silence was broken and a very angry motherly voice was the voice that was creating most of the commotion.

"you could have been killed!" "What were you thinking!" "Do you want to die!" Invier watched Kuronue out of the corner of his eye, as everytime she would yell something her tail would droop just a little more. She didn't get too awfully far in her screaming as the brother let out a subtle cough and nodded in Invier's direction. The mother looked down to see the small taru, and wiped her hands on her apron, coming over to thank him with a handshake… or so he had thought. This woman wasn't shy, as she picked Invier up and hugged him in the biggest bear hug Invier had felt in his small taru life, which was about to be cut short if the woman didn't let him go.

"MOM! You want to choke him or something?" Kuronue's voice sounded, and Invier was gently put back on the ground.

"I'm sorry, thank you so much though for bringing my baby home safely." She smiled down to Invier, who smiled right back.

"It's no problem at all ma'am. She's quite a good monk I must say, she barely needed my help." He decided to leave out the part where she just about died. Kuronue's mother got a worried look on her face, as she looked from Invier to Kuronue. Obviously she didn't want Kuronue to hear this, because dread was evident on her face. It was quickly masked, by a friendly smile though.

"I'm sorry, my name is Kanno, this is my son Shinji, and I believe you've already met my daughter Kuronue." She pointed to each person as she said them, as if he couldn't figure it out. "Now come, supper is almost finished, and I will have no one eating a cold dinner. Kuronue please show Invier to the bathroom to wash his hands before dinner, and then you can draw him a bath after dinner." Kuronue blushed bright red, and her tail even furled just a bit.

"Mom! I think he can draw his one ba-" Her mother cut in sternly before she could finish her sentence.

"Young lady! You heard me! I don't want to hear another word out of you for the rest of the night, or so help me." She decided to leave it at that, figuring that Kuronue knew already. Kuronue growled then turned sharply on her heel and started walking into another room.

"This way Invier." Invier tried not to laugh, and managed to contain it all but a small chuckle as he followed the angry Mithra girl to the bathroom. When they reached the bathroom though, she looked from Invier to the sink, realizing he wouldn't be able to reach. Something clicked and she reached under the sink to grab an old crate that she must have used as a young girl. "Tada!" She smiled, pretty proud of herself.

"Don't be late for dinner Invi," and with that she left the room.

A/N: Well I didn't get to the lemon this time T.T But I will have one haha ;; I'll put it in a separate chapter though, so for those who don't want to read it, dun have to . Yay! R&R PLZ btw even if you flame it I'll continue so HA! XP


	4. Fathers and Dragons

Wow, certainly has been AGES since I last wrote something on here... sadly I had to quit FFXI, along with my bf, but I just recently got to snooping around some FFXI stuff.. And I felt like writing a bit... so... here we go

Thank you as well, to all my reviewers.. I love you guys so much

_italics are flashbacks_

As Invier walked from the bathroom, down the long hallway to the kitchen, he could see random family pictures hanging along the wall. He couldn't help but notice, what appeared to be Kuronue, only in her younger years, always seeming to be trying to get out of the pictures, and or making ridiculous faces. Except for one imparticular one that caught his attention, and he found himself stopped dead in his tracks. It looked to be a male mithra, looking strikingly like Shinji, and holding a, what looked to be, possibly 5 year old Kuronue. It was the only picture in the entire hallway where she seemed to be truly smiling.

"Our father," said Shinji who must have been on his way to the kitchen as well. Invier did not look away, but could feel a slight uneasiness, and it only proved that feeling as he heard Shinji let out a heavy sigh. "She was about 4 when it all happened."

"_Daddy? Can I please go out with you today?" Kuronue tugged on her fathers pants lightly, looking up at him pleadingly. Her father was home from the war in San' dOria fighting orcs, and today he was just going out to fight a few of the lesser monsters. "Please daddy? I won't get hurt I promise, I'll knock the feathers off those stupid birds," Kuronue said as she swung her fists so fiercely she swung her little body in a circle, and nearly fell, if it weren't for her fathers strong hands there to hold her up. _

_Her father let out a hearty chuckle, then looked up to Kuronue's mother, who didn't look to pleased with the idea. They both gave her a pleading look, before she finally just shook her head and flicked her wrist, motioning for them to head on out before she changed her mind. Kuronue smiled and hugged her mother, then went to run outside before her mother stopped her. _

"_Now wait just one minute! I want a picture of my two little fighters." Kuronue groaned, but her father picked her up, which always would bring a smile to the little ones face. Kuronue smiled big, as the flash of light hit them both, and almost just as soon they were out the door. _

_Kuronue stuck to fighting the smaller monsters. Rabbits and Mandragoras were just her size, as she tried to mimic her fathers fighting style. She would watch him over a monsters shoulder and follow every punch she could. _

_They hadn't been out there long, when one of the men Kuronue would see her father frequently talking to ran up to her father. She could tell it was nothing good when her fathers face fell, and so did his ears for that matter. He ran past her towards the chocobo stables, as she followed. _

"_Daddy what's wrong," she asked as she followed on her fathers heels. _

"_There's a dragon attack in Giddeus, go back home, and tell your mother I'll be late to supper." _

"_No! I'm going to, I can help you daddy I can–" but her statement was cut off before she could finish._

"_I said GO!" Kuronue stopped in her tracks as she watched her father enter the stables. She was upset that her father had forbidden her to go, but that wasn't about to stop her. She quickly ran into the stables, her father already gone, probably halfway to Giddeus by now, as she hopped onto a Tarutaru chocobo, just about her size as she headed for Giddeus. _

_It was a short ride, but her chocobo refused to enter Giddeus, but she wasn't. She had remembered what her father had always taught her, and that information would keep her safe in nearly any situation. She reached into her bag and pulled out her Silent Oils and Prism Powder, using them quickly before heading past every Yagudo in there unnoticed. Her fathers footsteps were still fresh in the sand, as she tracked them down. Before long she could see the dragon they had been talking about. Her quick sprint quickly turned into a slow walk, as her eyes befell a horrible scene. Massacred bodies everywhere, charred Elvaans, bloody Tarutarus, gnawed Mithra, and dead Humes littered the ground. The stench nearly made her sick, but nowhere near as sick as the sight she saw. Six people stood challenging the horrible dragon. A small Tarutaru, obviously the whitemage as he stood near the rear, an Elvaan redmage, Hume ranger, Taru blackmage, Galka monk, and her father. It was a rag tag team, but it must have been all they could get at the time. _

_She was so stunned by the events in front of her, she never realized her silent oil, or her prism powder wore off. That was, until she noticed two pairs of very angry eyes glaring right at her. The dragon bellowed loudly, as it smacked the large galka out from in front of it as it charged for her. She was so scared she couldn't even scream, she stood there. The Galka fell, and she didn't think he was getting up. The ranger took aim and hit the dragon, hoping to wound it, and it did. The dragon then turned on the ranger, taking one foul swipe and another was down. They all began to fall, she didn't notice her father yelling, the whitemage running toward her or anything, she was frozen. She felt like she wasn't really there, like she was watching some sort of replay of it. _

_Then it happened..._

_Her father was smacked to the ground. The sickening thud his body made as it hit the ground jolted her out of it, as she ran towards him. She was roughly, grabbed by the Taru whitemage, which surprisingly was holding her back pretty well. She screamed as she watched her father getting beaten, blood everywhere, on that damn dragons claws, it's teeth, her fathers tail. It was everywhere!_

"_Get her out of here now!" She barely registered that her father was yelling, but her vision began to get foggy, and she then realized she was in the teleport beam as the whitemage began to cast Warp II on her. She screamed and ran towards her father as she began to fade from the scene. The last thing she saw was her father kiss her before beginning his dragon kick combo. _

"It was the last time she ever, any of us ever saw him. She, she took it the worst though." Invier continued to stare at the picture a few more minutes, as it all sank in. He noticed Shinji begin to walk away, and felt it would be rude to be late for a supper you were invited to as he also walked tothe kitchen, casting one last glance at that picture.

Woooh ;; theres a doozy of a story for ya...

As for the father, I wanted a little background for you for her, and why her father isn't around yet her brother is.

Ok.. Also.. My father had a second heart attack.. Maybe I just wanted some daughter father time in the story . So sue me..

It's back to the normal next chapter


End file.
